Click it or Ticket patrols to target unbuckled and distracted drivers this month

Posted by Danielle Anthony-Goodwin on May 15th, 2014

The “Click it or Ticket” patrols will be back in King County from May 19 through June 1, with officers on the lookout for unbuckled and distracted drivers.

The campaign has been particularly successful in catching drivers on their cell phones, with 836 cell phone and texting violations written during the last Click it or Ticket campaign period in April.

Since the “Handheld Cell Phone Use” law became a primary state law back in June 2010 the number of drivers cited for cell phone use per month statewide jumped from 700 to 4000.

Similarly, after the primary seat belt law came into effect in June 2002 seat belt violations initially increased and then the seat belt use rate increased.

“This model of high visibility enforcement has proven to change behaviors and is now being applied to distracted driving. Texting and cell phone usage is aggravating to so many motorists and it remains a growing public health and traffic safety issue,” writes the Washington Traffic Safety Committee in their latest press release.

During last year’s Click it or Ticket campaign at this time of year officers issued 2,963 seat belt violations and 1,897 cell phone and texting violations state wide.

In King County, between May 19 and June 1, the Auburn, Bellevue, Black Diamond, Burien, Covington, Federal Way, Issaquah, Kent, Kirkland, Lake Forest Park, Maple Valley, Mercer Island, Port of Seattle, Redmond, Renton, Sammamish, SeaTac, Seattle, Snoqualmie, Tukwila and Woodinville Police Departments will be teaming up with the Washington State Patrol to participate in these extra patrols.

3 reader comments so far ↓

If someone chooses to not wear their seatbelt, that act does not affect me what so ever. However car break-ins, litter in the park, vandalism, and other actual crimes do adversely affect the citizens of Ballard. I believe the police should concentrate on actual crime.

A day does not pass when I do not see people on their phones “distracted”. I honk when I see a distracted drivers. It only takes one distraction at an inopportune moment to kill a pedestrian, bicyclist or motorcyclist.
Lets have everyday be “target distracted drivers day” TDDD.
If you want to use your phone pull over and do it.

please, why focus on this for one month? that’s great and all but a law is a law – enforce them!

cell phone talking drivers are a scourge to be eliminated at once.

wondering if i’ll be able to join the forum again one day. I was a member for years and since the re-do I’ve been locked out. I email ed a few times but I guess the site owners don’t want the forum to have too many members…